U.S. patent application number 16/439358 was filed with the patent office on 2020-04-30 for hood weather strip assembly.
The applicant listed for this patent is Hyundai Motor Company Kia Motors Corporation. Invention is credited to Seong-Muk Lee.
Application Number | 20200130490 16/439358 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 70325005 |
Filed Date | 2020-04-30 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20200130490 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lee; Seong-Muk |
April 30, 2020 |
HOOD WEATHER STRIP ASSEMBLY
Abstract
A hood weather strip assembly is provided. The assembly includes
a center strip that is fixed to a cowl top cover and a pair of side
strips that are coupled to each end of the center strip and fixed
to fender side covers, respectively.
Inventors: |
Lee; Seong-Muk; (Yongin,
KR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Hyundai Motor Company
Kia Motors Corporation |
Seoul
Seoul |
|
KR
KR |
|
|
Family ID: |
70325005 |
Appl. No.: |
16/439358 |
Filed: |
June 12, 2019 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60J 10/2335 20160201;
B60J 10/233 20160201; B60J 10/84 20160201; B60J 10/50 20160201;
B62D 25/12 20130101; B60J 10/24 20160201 |
International
Class: |
B60J 10/84 20060101
B60J010/84; B60J 10/50 20060101 B60J010/50; B60J 10/23 20060101
B60J010/23; B62D 25/12 20060101 B62D025/12 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 30, 2018 |
KR |
10-2018-0130606 |
Claims
1. A hood weather strip assembly, comprising: a center strip fixed
to a cowl top cover; and a pair of side strips coupled to each end
of the center strip and fixed to fender side covers,
respectively.
2. The hood weather strip assembly of claim 1, wherein the center
strip includes: a center body and center coupling parts formed at
both ends of the center body, wherein the center coupling parts are
open laterally.
3. The hood weather strip assembly of claim 2, wherein each of the
center coupling parts has a same outer peripheral shape as the
center body.
4. The hood weather strip assembly of claim 3, wherein the center
coupling part includes a guide protrusion that protrudes from an
inner side of the center coupling part.
5. The hood weather strip assembly of claim 2, wherein each of the
side strips includes: a side body; and a side coupling part formed
at a first end of the side body to be coupled to an associated one
of the center coupling parts.
6. The hood weather strip assembly of claim 5, wherein the side
coupling part includes: a coupling body having a same outer
peripheral shape as the side body; and a coupling insert that
protrudes laterally from one side of the coupling body, having an
outer periphery smaller than the coupling body, and inserted into
the associated center coupling part.
7. The hood weather strip assembly of claim 6, wherein the coupling
insert is chamfered.
8. The hood weather strip assembly of claim 7, further comprising:
an end piece formed integrally with a second end of the side body
by injection molding.
9. The hood weather strip assembly of claim 1, wherein each of the
side strips includes: a side body and side coupling parts formed at
each end of the side body, respectively, wherein the side coupling
parts are open laterally.
10. The hood weather strip assembly of claim 9, wherein each of the
side coupling parts has a same outer peripheral shape as the side
body.
11. The hood weather strip assembly of claim 9, wherein the center
strip includes: a center body; and a center coupling part formed at
one end of the center body to be coupled to an associated one of
the side coupling parts.
12. The hood weather strip assembly of claim 11, wherein the center
coupling part includes: a coupling body having a same outer
peripheral shape as the center body; and a coupling insert that
protrudes laterally from one side of the coupling body, having an
outer periphery smaller than the coupling body, and inserted into
the associated side coupling part.
13. The hood weather strip assembly of claim 5, wherein the side
body is made of an ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE(S) TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority to Korean Patent
Application No. 10-2018-0130606, filed on Oct. 30, 2018, which is
incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND
Field of the Disclosure
[0002] The present disclosure relates to a hood weather strip
assembly, and more particularly, to a hood weather strip assembly
that is attached to a vehicle hood to improve sealing
performance.
Description of Related Art
[0003] A cowl top cover corresponds to a front panel connected to a
lower end of the front glass of a vehicle. The cowl top cover
includes a hood weather strip to prevent the gas generated in an
engine room from flowing into the vehicle and to prevent rainwater
from entering the engine room. In addition, the hood weather strip
prevents introduction of noise or the like into the vehicle, which
is caused by friction between the vehicle and the air.
[0004] Typically, the hood weather strip is disposed between the
front upper surface of the cowl top cover and the rear lower
surface of the hood, and is also fixedly coupled to the upper
surface of the cowl top cover and the upper surfaces of fender side
covers disposed at both sides of the cowl top cover as illustrated
in FIG. 1 of the related art. When the conventional hood weather
strip are divided into two weather strips 1 and 2 coupled to each
other, the weather strips 1 and 2 are simply covered as shown in
FIG. 2 illustrating portion A of FIG. 1 according to the related
art.
[0005] Particularly, the structure in which the weather strips 1
and 2 are simply covered is disadvantageous in sealing performance
of the hood weather strip, and may cause dynamic behavior of the
hood due to the lack of robustness of the overlapped portion of two
weather strips. The conventional weather strip is manufactured by
extruding a rubber material for sealing performance and elasticity
and bonding end pieces to both ends thereof with polyurethane (PU)
foaming agents.
[0006] The foregoing is intended merely to aid in the understanding
of the background of the present disclosure, and is not intended to
mean that the present disclosure falls within the purview of the
related art that is already known to those skilled in the art.
SUMMARY
[0007] An exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure provides a
hood weather strip assembly capable of enhancing sealing
performance and robustness at a coupling part between hood weather
strips. Other objects and advantages of the present disclosure may
be understood by the following description, and become apparent
with reference to the exemplary embodiments of the present
disclosure. Additionally, it is obvious to those skilled in the art
to which the present disclosure pertains that the objects and
advantages of the present disclosure may be realized by the means
as claimed and combinations thereof.
[0008] In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present
disclosure, a hood weather strip assembly may include a center
strip fixed to a cowl top cover, and a pair of side strips coupled
to both ends of the center strip and fixed to fender side covers,
respectively. The center strip may include a center body and center
coupling parts formed at both ends of the center body, the center
coupling parts being open laterally. Each of the center coupling
parts may have the same outer peripheral shape as the center body.
The center coupling part may include a guide protrusion that
protrudes from an inner side thereof.
[0009] Each of the side strips may include a side body, and a side
coupling part formed at a first end of the side body to be coupled
to an associated one of the center coupling parts. The side
coupling part may include a coupling body having the same outer
peripheral shape as the side body, and a coupling insert that
protrudes laterally from one side of the coupling body, having an
outer periphery smaller than the coupling body, and inserted into
the associated center coupling part. The coupling insert may be
chamfered.
[0010] The hood weather strip assembly may further include an end
piece formed integrally with a second end of the side body by
injection molding. Alternatively, each of the side strips may
include a side body and side coupling parts formed at both ends of
the side body, the side coupling parts being open laterally. Each
of the side coupling parts may have the same outer peripheral shape
as the side body. The center strip may include a center body, and a
center coupling part formed at one end of the center body to be
coupled to an associated one of the side coupling parts. The center
coupling part may include a coupling body having the same outer
peripheral shape as the center body, and a coupling insert that
protrudes laterally from one side of the coupling body, having an
outer periphery smaller than the coupling body, and inserted into
the associated side coupling part.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] The above and other features of the present invention will
now be described in detail with reference to certain exemplary
embodiments thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawings which
are given hereinbelow by way of illustration only, and thus are not
limitative of the present invention, and wherein:
[0012] FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a conventional hood weather strip
according to the related art;
[0013] FIG. 3 illustrates a hood weather strip assembly according
to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0014] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of
FIG. 3 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present
disclosure;
[0015] FIG. 5 partially illustrates a center strip according to an
exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0016] FIG. 6 partially illustrates a side strip according to an
exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0017] FIG. 7 illustrates coupling between the center strip and the
side strip according to an exemplary embodiment of the present
disclosure;
[0018] FIG. 8 is an enlarged view illustrating the coupling part of
FIG. 7 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present
disclosure.
[0019] FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line D-D of
FIG. 8 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present
disclosure.
[0020] FIGS. 10 and 11 are views illustrating the bending/torsional
moment by the conventional hood weather strip according to the
related art; and
[0021] FIG. 12 is a view illustrating the bending/torsional moment
by the hood weather strip assembly according to an exemplary
embodiment of the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0022] It is understood that the term "vehicle" or "vehicular" or
other similar term as used herein is inclusive of motor vehicles in
general such as passenger automobiles including sports utility
vehicles (SUV), buses, trucks, various commercial vehicles,
watercraft including a variety of boats and ships, aircraft, and
the like, and includes hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles,
combustion, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, hydrogen-powered
vehicles and other alternative fuel vehicles (e.g. fuels derived
from resources other than petroleum).
[0023] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing
particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of
the disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and
"the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood
that the terms "comprises" and/or "comprising," when used in this
specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers,
steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude
the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers,
steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. As
used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of
one or more of the associated listed items.
[0024] Unless specifically stated or obvious from context, as used
herein, the term "about" is understood as within a range of normal
tolerance in the art, for example within 2 standard deviations of
the mean. "About" can be understood as within 10%, 9%, 8%, 7%, 6%,
5%, 4%, 3%, 2%, 1%, 0.5%, 0.1%, 0.05%, or 0.01% of the stated
value. Unless otherwise clear from the context, all numerical
values provided herein are modified by the term "about."
[0025] The accompanying drawings for illustrating exemplary
embodiments of the present disclosure should be referred to gain a
sufficient understanding of the present disclosure, the merits
thereof, and the objectives accomplished by the implementation of
the present disclosure. In the exemplary embodiments of the present
disclosure, techniques well known in the art or repeated
descriptions may be reduced or omitted to avoid obscuring
appreciation of the disclosure by a person of ordinary skill in the
art.
[0026] FIG. 3 illustrates a hood weather strip assembly according
to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is a
cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of FIG. 3. FIG. 5
partially illustrates a center strip which is one component of the
present disclosure. FIG. 6 partially illustrates a side strip which
is one component of the present disclosure. FIG. 7 illustrates
coupling between the center strip and the side strip of the present
disclosure.
[0027] Hereinafter, the hood weather strip assembly according to
the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will be
described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 7. The hood weather strip
assembly of the present disclosure may have improved sealing
performance and enhanced robustness since it is not structured to
simply cover two weather strips.
[0028] Accordingly, the hood weather strip assembly according to
the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure may include a
center strip 10 fixedly coupled to the upper surface of a cowl top
cover C, and a pair of side strips 20 and 30 coupled to both ends
of the center strip 10 (e.g., the side strips are coupled to each
of the center strip ends, respectively) and fixed to the upper
surfaces of respective fender side covers S. For example, the side
strip 20 may be coupled to a first end of the center strip 10 and
the side strip 30 may be coupled to a second end of the center
strip 10. The side strips 20 and 30 includes end pieces 23 and 33
formed at the ends thereof, respectively. For example, the end
piece 23 (e.g., first end piece) may be formed at the end of the
side strip 20 (e.g., a first side strip) and the end piece 33
(e.g., second end piece) may be formed at the end of the side strip
30 (e.g., a second side strip).
[0029] Each of the center strip 10 and the side strips 20 and 30
has a body and a fixing part coupled to an associated one of the
cowl top cover C and the fender side covers S at the lower portion
of the body. In other words, as shown in FIG. 4 illustrating the
section B-B of FIG. 3, the side strip 20 may include, for example,
a side body 21 made of a material such as an ethylene propylene
diene monomer (EPDM) or other type of rubber having a predetermined
elastic force and sealing property to seal the space between the
lower surface of the hood and the upper surface of the fender side
cover S during contact with the hood. The side body 21 may have a
hollow defined therein to further improve an elastic force and a
sealing property.
[0030] The side strip 20 may further include a fixing part 24 made
of hard rubber and a groove formed upward from the lower surface
thereof. The fixing part 24 may be coupled to the fender side cover
S by inserting a protrusion formed on the fender side cover S into
the groove of the fixing part 24. The structure of the body and
fixing part is the same as that of the center strip. The assembly
of the present disclosure is configured such that the pair of side
strips 20 and 30 are not covered by the center strip 10 but are
coupled to the center strip 10. Accordingly, the center strip 10
may include a center body 11 and center coupling parts 12 formed at
both ends of the center body 11, and each of the side strips 20 and
30 may include a side body 21 and a side coupling part 22.
[0031] FIGS. 5 to 7 illustrate only one of the side strips 20 and
30, merely for illustrative purposes but the configuration is the
same for both side strips. In particular, the side coupling part 22
of the side strip 20 may be formed at a first side of the side body
21, and the end piece 23 may be formed at a second side of the side
body 21. The center strip 10 may be coupled to the pair of side
strips 20 and 30 via the center body 11, which has a sealing
property and an elastic force and may be fixed to the cowl top
cover C, and the center coupling parts 12 formed at both ends
thereof. Each of the center coupling parts 12 may be laterally
penetrated for coupling with the side coupling part 22 of the side
strip 20 and has the same outer peripheral shape as the center body
11.
[0032] As illustrated in FIG. 5, the center coupling part 12 may
include a guide protrusion 12-1 that protrudes from the inner lower
surface of the center coupling part 12 for coupling with the side
coupling part 22. The guide protrusion 12-1 may be separated if
necessary. The side strip 20 may include the side body 21, which
has a sealing property and an elastic force and may be fixed to the
fender side cover S, the side coupling part 22 formed at the first
end of the side body 21, and the end piece 23 formed at the second
end of the side body 21, and may be coupled to the center strip 10
by the side coupling part 22.
[0033] The side body 21 may have a flatly bent shape (e.g., bent
with straight sides) that corresponds to the fender side cover S as
illustrated in the drawing. Additionally, the side coupling part 22
may include a coupling body 22-1 having the same outer peripheral
shape as the side body 21, and a coupling insert 22-2 that
protrudes laterally from one side of the coupling body 22-1 and has
an outer periphery that is smaller than the coupling body 22-1, and
the coupling insert 22-2 may be inserted into the associated center
coupling part 12.
[0034] Since the coupling insert 22-2 protrudes laterally from one
side of the coupling body 22-1, the outer periphery of the coupling
insert 22-2 has a size that corresponds to the inner periphery of
the center coupling part 12. Therefore, when the center strip 10 is
coupled to the side strip 20 as in FIG. 7, the coupling insert 22-2
may be fully inserted into the center coupling part 12 to prevent
exposure to the outside and thus, the center coupling part 12 and
the coupling body 22-1 may be integrated in appearance due to the
same outer peripheral shape and size of thereof as illustrated in
FIG. 8.
[0035] As shown in FIG. 9 illustrating the section D-D of FIG. 8,
since a double sealing butt structure is formed by contact of the
coupling insert 22-2 with the inner surface of the center coupling
part 12 and contact between the center coupling part 12 and the
coupling body 22-1, it may be possible to further improve sealing
performance and robustness. Although the side coupling part 22 of
the side strip 20 is described as being inserted into the center
coupling part 12 of the center strip 10 in the exemplary embodiment
of the present disclosure, the coupling structure may also be
formed in the opposite way.
[0036] In other words, the center strip 10 may be formed with a
center coupling part having a coupling insert 22-2 that protrudes
laterally, and the coupling insert of the center strip may be
inserted into a side coupling part open laterally at one side of
the side strip 20. In addition, the coupling insert 22-2 may be
chamfered at the upper or lower surface or side surface thereof for
easy coupling as illustrated in FIG. 6. An example of the present
disclosure illustrates that the coupling insert is chamfered at the
upper and lower surfaces thereof.
[0037] Meanwhile, the center body 11 of the center strip 10 and the
side body 21 of the side strip 20 or 30 may be made of a material
such as EPDM having a predetermined elastic force and sealing
property in a strip shape by an extrusion process. The center
coupling part 12 may be formed integrally with the center body 11
by an injection process and the side coupling part 22 may be formed
integrally with the side body 21 by an injection process. In each
of the pair of side strips 20 and 30, the end piece 23 may be
formed integrally with the side body 21 at one end thereof by
injection molding.
[0038] As described above, the center coupling part, the side
coupling part, and the end piece of the hood weather strip assembly
of the present disclosure may be integrated with respective bodies
by injection molding unlike the conventional ones. Therefore, it
may be possible to increase merchantability in appearance and
improve robustness by enhanced bonding force.
[0039] FIGS. 10 and 11 are views illustrating the bending/torsional
moment by the conventional hood weather strip. FIG. 12 is a view
illustrating the bending/torsional moment by the hood weather strip
assembly of the present disclosure. Referring to the drawings, the
bending/torsional moment value is much larger in the present
disclosure illustrated in FIG. 12.
[0040] In the related art of FIG. 10, the bending stiffness of the
weather strip is deteriorated since the portion where the weather
strip is pressed at an angle of inclination by the hood inner panel
is deformed in a direction away from the hinge (e.g., fixed point).
However, in the present disclosure, the hood weather strip assembly
is resistant to bending and torsion since the fitting structure is
applied to the coupling part between the weather strips and the
hood weather strip assembly is endured in a direction opposite to
the closed direction.
[0041] The sealing performance and robustness of the hood weather
strip assembly according to the present disclosure may further be
improved by the double sealing structure between two weather
strips. The hood weather strip assembly has an excellent appearance
and does not cause dynamic behavior of the hood since it is not
structured to simply cover the gap between two weather strips. The
hood weather strip assembly reduces the torsional moment of the
vehicle body, compared with having a simple covering structure.
[0042] While the present disclosure has been described with respect
to the specific exemplary embodiments, it will be apparent to those
skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be
made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure
as defined in the following claims.
* * * * *